Keith's note: Great commercial space news. RocketLab is coming to NASA Wallops in Virginia to do commercial space launches. You'd think that all parties involved would want as much media present as possible - especially Virginia-based space media (like NASAWatch). Guess again. I first learned about this event, held on a NASA facility, staffed by NASA personnel, announced after it was underway on social media and broadcast on a NASA TV channel when I saw mention of it on Twitter. NASA Wallops PAO sent me nothing in advance. I caught the tail end of the webcast and discovered that there was also a phone bridge for media who are offsite to dial in to ask questions. No one at NASA Wallops PAO told me about that either. This is not the first time Wallops PAO has played this sort of games with me. I have sent an email to NASA PAO and Wallops personnel asking why NASAWatch was excluded from the advance notice and access provided to other news media. Until/unless I get a response (normally I get no response from Wallops) I am torn with ascribing this to incompetence - or spite- on Wallops' part given that this happens to me with some regularity.

Although I had no advance notice of this event, this is the question that popped into my head for RocketLab: "You are going to be doing a lot of launches at Wallops - and they do a lot of suborbital launches for student projects. Is your company looking to work with NASA and M.A.R.S. to provide additional opportunities for students and interns in Virginia to learn about space?".

\n\nKeith's note: Great commercial space news. RocketLab is coming to NASA Wallops in Virginia to do commercial space launches. You'd think that all parties involved would want as much media present as possible - especially Virginia-based space media (like NASAWatch). Guess again. I first learned about this event, held on a NASA facility, staffed by NASA personnel, announced after it was underway on social media and broadcast on a NASA TV channel when I saw mention of it on Twitter. NASA Wallops PAO sent me nothing in advance. I caught the tail end of the webcast and discovered that there was also a phone bridge for media who are offsite to dial in to ask questions. No one at NASA Wallops PAO told me about that either. This is not the first time Wallops PAO has played this sort of games with me. I have sent an email to NASA PAO and Wallops personnel asking why NASAWatch was excluded from the advance notice and access provided to other news media. Until/unless I get a response (normally I get no response from Wallops) I am torn with ascribing this to incompetence - or spite- on Wallops' part given that this happens to me with some regularity. \n\nAlthough I had no advance notice of this event, this is the question that popped into my head for RocketLab: \"You are going to be doing a lot of launches at Wallops - and they do a lot of suborbital launches for student projects. Is your company looking to work with NASA and M.A.R.S. to provide additional opportunities for students and interns in Virginia to learn about space?\".

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